# Share with a degree: highest and lowest councils in South East (2021)

Elmbridge had the highest share of residents with a degree-level qualification of South East’s 64 councils in 2021, at 52.1%.

Swale had the lowest, at 23.7%. The middle council, Basingstoke and Deane, had 35.2%.

| Rank | Area | Degree-level qualifications |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Elmbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/elmbridge) | 52.1% |
| 2 | [Oxford](https://openindex.co.uk/oxford) | 48.1% |
| 3 | [Waverley](https://openindex.co.uk/waverley) | 46.6% |
| 4 | [Wokingham](https://openindex.co.uk/wokingham) | 46.2% |
| 5 | [Windsor and Maidenhead](https://openindex.co.uk/windsor-and-maidenhead) | 45.0% |
| 6 | [Winchester](https://openindex.co.uk/winchester) | 44.9% |
| 7 | [Woking](https://openindex.co.uk/woking) | 44.7% |
| 8 | [Brighton and Hove](https://openindex.co.uk/brighton-and-hove) | 44.5% |
| 9 | [Epsom and Ewell](https://openindex.co.uk/epsom-and-ewell) | 44.3% |
| 10 | [Guildford](https://openindex.co.uk/guildford) | 44.1% |
| 11 | [Vale of White Horse](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-white-horse) | 44.0% |
| 12 | [South Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-oxfordshire) | 43.6% |
| 13 | [Mole Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/mole-valley) | 43.1% |
| 14 | [Hart](https://openindex.co.uk/hart) | 41.4% |
| 15 | [Tunbridge Wells](https://openindex.co.uk/tunbridge-wells) | 41.1% |
| 16 | [Buckinghamshire](https://openindex.co.uk/buckinghamshire) | 41.0% |
| 17 | [Reading](https://openindex.co.uk/reading) | 40.4% |
| 18 | [Reigate and Banstead](https://openindex.co.uk/reigate-and-banstead) | 40.2% |
| 19 | [Surrey Heath](https://openindex.co.uk/surrey-heath) | 39.2% |
| =20 | [East Hampshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hampshire) | 38.7% |
| =20 | [Mid Sussex](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-sussex) | 38.7% |
| 22 | [West Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-oxfordshire) | 38.3% |
| 23 | [Tandridge](https://openindex.co.uk/tandridge) | 37.4% |
| 24 | [Sevenoaks](https://openindex.co.uk/sevenoaks) | 37.3% |
| 25 | [Chichester](https://openindex.co.uk/chichester) | 37.2% |
| =26 | [Horsham](https://openindex.co.uk/horsham) | 37.0% |
| =26 | [West Berkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-berkshire) | 37.0% |
| 28 | [Milton Keynes](https://openindex.co.uk/milton-keynes) | 35.8% |
| 29 | [Test Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/test-valley) | 35.7% |
| 30 | [Bracknell Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/bracknell-forest) | 35.6% |
| 31 | [Runnymede](https://openindex.co.uk/runnymede) | 35.3% |
| 32 | [Basingstoke and Deane](https://openindex.co.uk/basingstoke-and-deane) | 35.2% |
| 33 | [Cherwell](https://openindex.co.uk/cherwell) | 35.1% |
| =34 | [Lewes](https://openindex.co.uk/lewes) | 34.8% |
| =34 | [Slough](https://openindex.co.uk/slough) | 34.8% |
| 36 | [Spelthorne](https://openindex.co.uk/spelthorne) | 33.6% |
| 37 | [Fareham](https://openindex.co.uk/fareham) | 33.4% |
| =38 | [Canterbury](https://openindex.co.uk/canterbury) | 33.1% |
| =38 | [Eastleigh](https://openindex.co.uk/eastleigh) | 33.1% |
| 40 | [Wealden](https://openindex.co.uk/wealden) | 32.6% |
| 41 | [Tonbridge and Malling](https://openindex.co.uk/tonbridge-and-malling) | 32.5% |
| 42 | [Dartford](https://openindex.co.uk/dartford) | 32.4% |
| 43 | [Worthing](https://openindex.co.uk/worthing) | 31.7% |
| 44 | [Southampton](https://openindex.co.uk/southampton) | 31.6% |
| 45 | [New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest) | 31.2% |
| 46 | [Ashford](https://openindex.co.uk/ashford) | 30.1% |
| 47 | [Portsmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/portsmouth) | 30.0% |
| =48 | [Maidstone](https://openindex.co.uk/maidstone) | 29.9% |
| =48 | [Rother](https://openindex.co.uk/rother) | 29.9% |
| =50 | [Eastbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/eastbourne) | 29.8% |
| =50 | [Rushmoor](https://openindex.co.uk/rushmoor) | 29.8% |
| 52 | [Hastings](https://openindex.co.uk/hastings) | 28.6% |
| 53 | [Adur](https://openindex.co.uk/adur) | 27.9% |
| 54 | [Crawley](https://openindex.co.uk/crawley) | 27.5% |
| =55 | [Folkestone and Hythe](https://openindex.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe) | 27.4% |
| =55 | [Isle of Wight](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-wight) | 27.4% |
| 57 | [Dover](https://openindex.co.uk/dover) | 27.0% |
| 58 | [Gravesham](https://openindex.co.uk/gravesham) | 26.7% |
| 59 | [Havant](https://openindex.co.uk/havant) | 26.5% |
| 60 | [Arun](https://openindex.co.uk/arun) | 26.4% |
| 61 | [Thanet](https://openindex.co.uk/thanet) | 26.3% |
| 62 | [Medway](https://openindex.co.uk/medway) | 25.6% |
| 63 | [Gosport](https://openindex.co.uk/gosport) | 24.8% |
| 64 | [Swale](https://openindex.co.uk/swale) | 23.7% |

Source: Census 2021, England and Wales and Census 2021, Northern Ireland, ONS Census 2021. Covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [England, Wales and Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/northern-ireland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/london)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/degree-level-qualifications)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/degree-level-qualifications)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/south-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/degree-level-qualifications/south-east